How to raise a healthy eater

With the goal of raising happy and healthy children, many parents strive to ensure that their kids are eating the right foods and in the right amounts. However, a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that parents’ intervening over what their children eat may not be helpful in maintaining a healthy weight. Restricting calorie intake of unhealthy foods, such as those high in sugar and fat, or encouraging overconsumption of a healthy food may inhibit adolescents’ ability understand and respond to their own hunger signals. Excessive control over a kid’s diet might actually result in an increase, rather than a reduction in weight! Instead, a better way to get kids to learn healthy eating habits is to provide them with a variety of healthy food choices (fruits and veggies!) and allow them to eat what they like in moderation.